[Roughly translated:] “So whoever desires honor in this world and the Hereafter should seek it from the Lord of honor, Exalted be He, Owner of this world and the Hereafter; and that [honor] is acquired with the perfection of faith and taqwa (God-consciousness), and with unfailing obedience of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.“Whoever desires honor [through power] – then to Allah belongs all honor. To Him ascends good speech, and righteous work raises it.” [Surah Faatir: 10]

I’ll make it simple, honor/respect comes from Allah. He’ll give it to you if you fulfill these conditions: Imaan, taqwa and obedience.

I have a question. A confusion, rather. When we want ice-cream, do we go to the freezer or the water-cooler? Or when we need clothes, do we go to the shop that sells clothes or the one that sells batteries? Obvious answers, right? Similarly, when we want respect and honor for ourselves, we should go to Allah because He’s the only One who has it. People don’t. Allah is the LORD OF HONOR, the only source. Don’t waste your time running after people, they’re fickle.

Say, “O Allah , Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will. You honor whom You will and You humble whom You will. In Your hand is [all] good. Indeed, You are over all things competent. [Ali-Imran: 26]